1. Field of Disclosed Subject Matter
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for implementing at least one auger-based transport device or system comprising a plurality of mechanical augers for vertical transport of image receiving media, such as, for example, transport of collated sets of image receiving media in post-processing systems of image forming devices and advanced image forming systems.
2. Related Art
Many modern, sometimes complex, image forming systems make use of myriad individual and interchangeable component devices. These include multiple different (1) image receiving media supply devices for supplying differing compositions of image receiving media substrates at an input end of the image forming system, (2) pre-processing and/or conditioning devices for preparing at least one surface of the image receiving media substrates to receive at least one marking material with which images will be formed on the at least one surface, (3) marking devices for depositing the at least one marking material on the conditioned surfaces of the image receiving media substrates to form the images according to input or read image signals, (4) fusing/finishing systems, primarily used for fixing the deposited at least one marking material on the image receiving media substrates to make the images formed on the image receiving media substrates less likely to damaged, e.g., more permanent, and (5) post-processing devices for accomplishing certain post processing tasks including collating the image receiving media substrates as sets comprising a multi-page finished document and stapling or otherwise binding the multi-page finished document.
The many and widely varied component devices may be individually arranged as image forming systems in a number of different configurations. The individual component devices are generally interconnected by a series of increasingly intricate image receiving media substrate transport systems, paths and/or components. The image receiving media transport systems, paths and/or components are generally designed and implemented to not limit the transport requirements from an output of one device to the input of another. This design flexibility can be beneficial as the transport paths remain generally supportive of the interchangeable components to which they are connected.
At an end of the processing scheme, the form and function of the image receiving media transport systems, paths and/or components often becomes more narrowly defined. The print job is generally completed with individual sheets of image receiving media, with the images formed and fixed thereon, being collected in sets at an output of one or more post-processing devices. Manipulation of the individual image receiving media sheets (substrates) or of the sets of image receiving media sheets (substrates) at that point in the processing of the documents responsive to the directed print job can be particularly intricate. There is often a need to ensure that the sets of image receiving media substrates are fairly precisely stacked in order to facilitate one or more finishing processes including, for example, stapling or binding.
The manipulations associated with aligning individual sheets into stacks are broadly referred to as, and are generally understood by those of skill in the art to involve, functions of stacking and tamping the individual sheets of image receiving media into precise alignment in the sets. Stacking often occurs against a static edge alignment body portion at an output of the post processing device to provide longitudinal alignment of the individual sheets of image receiving media in a process direction, stacking being generally a passive process. Tamping generally refers to an often active alignment component in which paddles or other devices may be employed on any, but most often, lateral sides of a set of image receiving media substrates to align the set in a direction orthogonal to the process direction.
Certain currently-fielded systems may be configured with what may generally be described as vertical compiler (stacker) setups. FIG. 1 illustrates a simple schematic representation of a side view of an exemplary system 100 incorporating a commonly-implemented vertical compiler setup. FIG. 2 illustrates a simple schematic representation of a top plan view of an exemplary system 100 incorporating the same commonly-implemented vertical compiler setup. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, individual sheets of image receiving media substrates 130 exit an imaging system processing/post-processing device 110 at an exit/ejection port 115 and are individually deposited in an output tray 120.
A “bottom” or platform of the output tray 120 may consist of a plurality of longitudinally-arranged image receiving media substrate supports that extend in a process (longitudinal) direction of the image receiving media substrate 130. The image receiving media substrate 130 rests on the substrate supports and is generally manually recoverable from the substrate supports.
In exemplary systems such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, vertical set compilation may occur in one or more stages as follows. Individual image receiving medium substrate(s) 130 may be dropped in stages from the output tray 120, acting as a temporary compiler. This dropping may be effected, by laterally-opposing motions (orthogonal to the process direction) of the plurality of longitudinal image receiving media substrate supports (or arms) toward opposed lateral edges of the output tray 120, displacing the substrate supports from under the image receiving media substrate 130. As a result of the linear movement of the plurality of longitudinal image receiving media substrate supports, each of the image receiving media substrates 130 drops down to an image receiving medium set receiving platform, or an output set collection platform component 150.
The image receiving media substrates 130 may be collected as a set 140 on the output set collection platform component 150. The output set collection platform component 150 may be, in turn, comprised of at least a pair of compiler shutters 152/154. Each sheet of image receiving media substrate 130 in the set is dropped in a similar fashion to create the set 140 of image receiving media on the compiler shutters 152/154. When the set of image receiving media 140 is complete and properly registered, and optionally, for example, bound or stapled, the set of image receiving media 140 is then dropped onto a stack of previously dropped sets of image receiving media 170, or directly onto some manner of set output transport path 160 to be moved in a process direction B from stack position 170 to stack position 180 and beyond.
The above-described dropping function is currently undertaken in commonly-implemented vertical compiler setups by rapid cycling of the compiler shutters 152/154 in opening and then closing in mechanically opposing motions.
Both of the above-described drop functions will often tend to introduce variation in set registration in the first individual sheet drop stage and the set-to-set (stack) registration in the second drop stage. This process, requiring automated cycling of the supports/arms and the shutters opening in a first mechanical motion, and closing in a second and opposite direction second mechanical motion, stresses the mechanical components of the shutters and shutter actuators. This process can generally only be accomplished with high acceleration motions in all of the affected physical mechanisms, i.e., the temporary compiler arms, shutters, side tampers, and movable trailing edge tampers. This process also pushes the limits of timing based on the inertia of, and required reversal in, the multiple mechanical components.